A lot has already been written and said about orchids, but exotic beautiful flowers on store shelves are associated with them. In fact, all beautiful garden forms originated from wild representatives. And in our latitudes, representatives of this family also grow. Forest orchids may not be as beautiful as tropical ones, but they are also not without their charm.
Orchids in Russia
Forest orchids of Russia outwardly differ from their tropical relatives, but at the same time they are no less interesting and beautiful upon closer examination. Perhaps we met them in the wild, but did not even think about which family the plants belong to. 136 species of orchids grow on the territory of the country (we will give photos and names of some of them in the article). They can be found on the edges and clearings, in wetlands and meadows. These are two-leaved lyubka, hawthorn, venus slipper, bulbous calypso, swamp dremlik, sprawling oreoorchis. Almost all northern forest orchids are listed in the Red Book. They grow even in the Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions.
Structure of orchids
Forest orchids of the middle lane have common characteristics,characteristic of representatives of this family is the structure of the root system and flowers. The inflorescence consists of three leaves and three sepals. Most often, there is a brighter color of the petals than the sepals. But this phenomenon does not always happen. The lip of the flower is a landing site for insects, and therefore it always has a bright color.
The roots of forest orchids are very fragile inside, and outside they are reliably protected by a thick layer of tissues, consisting of dead tissues, which have a high absorbency. Thanks to this, the plant receives the necessary nutrition. Orchid roots have an amazing ability to form a fungus - mycorrhiza. Between the plant and the fungus there is a complex mechanism for the exchange of substances that they cannot synthesize on their own. It is for this reason that the transplantation of orchid plants is not always successful even with specialists. Orchids do not survive without their fungal companion, they either die immediately or after a while.
Venus slipper
Lady's slipper - the most beautiful forest orchids of the northern forests. The flower is so charming that it can really be dedicated to the goddess of beauty and love. It was this type of orchid that was first taken under protection in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. The plant is saved from annoying animals with the help of its caustic juice, which makes it completely tasteless. But from people who like to pick beautiful flowers, you can’t just defend yourself. It is difficult to imagine, but the plant blooms only in the eighteenth year of life. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is now difficult to meet the lady's slipper in the wild.
The genus slipper has about 50 species of orchids (photos and names of some of them are given in the article). They are common in Europe, Asia, North and South America. Only four varieties grow in Russia - spotted, real, large-flowered, etc.
The lady's slipper has a bright yellow lip and very dark purple petals. The very shape of the flower is very similar to a woman's shoe. The spectacular shape of the orchid and bright color makes the plant look like a butterfly.
Legends of the beautiful flower
A very interesting legend is associated with this plant of the orchid family. Once upon a time in a fairyland, butterflies sat on a plant and could no longer fly, as they turned into beautiful flowers.
But the legend of ancient Greek mythology tells how the shoes of Venus turned into a beautiful flower. Adonis and Venus got into a thunderstorm and hid from the weather in a secluded place. And the shoe of the goddess remained lying on the ground. At this time, a man was passing by and saw a golden slipper. As soon as he decided to pick it up and extended his hand, it turned into a flower that looked like a shoe.
Where does the lady's slipper grow?
Venus slipper has long been learned to grow in flower beds. It is worth noting that these forest orchids are one of the most unpretentious. They are found in the mountainous regions of Tibet, in China, as well as in the forest regions of the European part of Russia. Their habitat covers the FarEast, Siberia, Korea, Japan and North America. The lady's slipper lives in mixed coniferous and deciduous fields, as well as in clearings.
Lubka bifolia
Another forest orchid is two-leaved love. The flowering plant has a very elegant appearance. On a thin stem is an ear of white flowers. Near the ground there are two leaves opposite each other. By them you can recognize the plant even when it does not bloom. It is worth noting that specimens with two leaves are flowering, and those that have only one basal leaf are non-flowering. During flowering, the two-leafed love exudes a stunning aroma, which is especially strong in the morning and evening hours. For this, the plant was popularly called the night violet, although it has nothing to do with the violets themselves.
The flowering of the plant itself cannot be called beautiful, since small white flowers are equipped with spurs, because of which the inflorescence seems shaggy from afar. Inside each of them contains nectar that attracts insects. Lyubka two-leaved reproduces exclusively by seeds, of which a lot ripens. But, like all orchids, they germinate with great difficulty. A flowering plant attracts the attention of people who pick flower stalks, without thinking that in this way they completely deprive the forest orchid of the opportunity to reproduce. Currently, two-leaved love is on the verge of extinction.
Spotted Orchis
Another forest orchid is spotted orchid. This species is the most common member of the familyorchids. About 24 orchid varieties grow in Russia. All of them differ in the color of flowers, foliage, and the structure of the root system.
The most common species are: spotted orchis. A perennial plant can be seen in the forests at the end of June or in July, during its flowering period. Orchid prefers wet glades, forest swamps and shrubs. It is very beautiful during the flowering period. The description of the spotted orchis would be incomplete if you do not talk about its colors of white or light purple. Which are collected in an ear. The leaves of the plant have light gray spots, which is why its name came from. The flowers secrete nectar, which attracts insects, which pollinate it, causing the seeds to ripen. Orchid also reproduces only by seeds. The roots of the plant look like flattened cones. If they are dug up during the flowering period, then there will be two tubers, one of which has a brown color, and the second is young and light. It is from it that a young plant appears the next year.
Orchis has long been used as a remedy. Its roots are valuable. They have incredible nutritional value. So, for example, in the absence of other food, it is enough for an adult to eat 40 grams of orchis roots, dried into powder and diluted with water. Other species are also used in folk medicine: helmet-shaped orchis (Orchis militaris L.), male orchis (Orchis mascula L.), marsh orchis (Orchis palustris L.) and others … Another name for the species is "Skullcap", it emphasizes the shape of the upperflower petal. Therefore, the scientific name of the species is "helmeted orchis" (Orchis militaris L.).
Real nest
This plant always stands out from the crowd because it has a peculiar brown color. The stalk of a real nest rises from the ground, and in its lower part there are rudiments of leaves resembling scales. The inflorescence of the plant consists of fifteen light brown flowers. This forest orchid got its name because of the plexus of roots, which resembles a bird's nest. The nest feeds on decaying plant residues. She absolutely does not need light, because she does not have chlorophyll. To meet such a plant in the forest is a rarity. It grows singly, not in groups. Nesting reproduces only by seeds, like other members of the family.
Creeping Goodyear
Creeping Goodyear is a very rare plant that is found in pine forests among mosses. The leaves of the plant are collected in a rosette and outwardly very much resemble plantain foliage. But at the same time they are much smaller and decorated with a mesh pattern. Goodyear also belongs to the orchid family. It blooms in the middle of summer. The stem grows from the outlet, its height is 15-20 centimeters. And the top is decorated with white flowers. By the end of summer, seeds ripen in small boxes of plants. They are so small that they are not even visible to the naked eye.
Unlike other plants, they consist of a homogeneous tissue, while they do not have any rudiments of roots or leaves. Goodyear has longcreeping rhizomes, the surface of which is covered with a dense layer of mushroom threads. Thanks to them, the plant absorbs moisture from their soil. Such close cooperation between plant and fungi is called symbiosis. Gudera cannot grow without mycorrhiza. Even the seeds of a plant will never take root without a fungus. Due to the fact that it is very difficult to work with our forest orchids, they have practically not been touched by the hands of breeders, so they live the way nature created them millions of years ago.
Garden Crops
And yet the beauty of orchids did not go unnoticed by gardeners. Among the forest orchids, there were still those that can be grown on home plots. These include the forest orchid - leopard lily. A beautiful exotic plant can be grown from seeds that are sold by some nurseries over the Internet. The homeland of the plant is China, but it takes root well in our gardens. Belamkanda Chinese, it is also a forest orchid and leopard lily has a very long flowering period. The plant belongs to perennials and propagates well in gardens by self-sowing.
Leopard lily it was called because of the presence of dark orange spots on beautiful flowers. And the plant is also called blackberry lily, because its seeds resemble these berries. In general, culture is unique and there is nothing else like it in the world. The plant is incredibly common throughout China. In addition, it can be seen in Indonesia, Japan, North India and Eastern Siberia. In nature, the plant grows in sparse forests, on rocky cliffs, on the slopes of rice fields.fields and even along roadsides.
Belamkanda was brought to us from East Asia. Now it is grown in gardens as an ornamental plant with graceful beautiful flowers. The perennial plant has yellow-orange or reddish flowers with characteristic dark dots. At the same time, they are collected in large inflorescences in the form of wide brushes. A blooming flower in diameter reaches five to seven centimeters.
In our latitudes, the orchid begins to bloom at the end of July. It pleases with beauty until the end of August, and sometimes until the beginning of September. An interesting fact is that each flower has a very short life. It only blooms for a couple of hours. It opens in the morning, and begins to fade closer to sunset. Outwardly, fading just looks like twisting. And the next day, in the morning, new flowers are already opening on the stem. Here is such a unique plant - a leopard orchid.
In autumn, seeds ripen on the plant in boxes that look like blackberries. Belamkanda reproduces well by dividing rhizomes, as well as by seeds that are grown even at room conditions, in order to later be transplanted into open ground.
Instead of afterword
Amazing forest orchids are a real miracle of nature. Unfortunately, they are rarely seen in the wild. But for many of us, rather fastidious exotic counterparts with beautiful and bright colors have long taken root in our apartments.
